Out of the Darkness
by Settiai
Summary: Natia Brosca spends her first night on the surface.


It was night when they came to the surface.

Natia had been trying to prepare herself for that moment ever since they had left Orzammar. It had been at the forefront of her mind, giving her something to focus on other than the events of the last week. She had almost convinced herself that she was ready, that she would step out from under the safety of stone into open air without even a moment's hesitation.

As she stood there, another step or two away from leaving everything she had ever known behind her, she realized just how wrong she'd been.

She closed her eyes for a moment or two, taking in as deep a breath as possible. The air smelled… wrong, somehow. Natia didn't have the words to describe how or why.

There was a rustling noise beside her, followed by the faint clanking of metal. Duncan. It had to be Duncan. Her eyes immediately flew open, darting up to meet his gaze.

He smiled down at her, and a distant part of her brain was surprised to note that it actually seemed to be genuine. "Do you need a moment?" he asked gently. Too gently. Much too gently. As if he thought she was some fragile thing that might break.

Don't show fear. That was the first rule a duster learned, as soon as they were old enough to walk. Sometimes even before. Show fear, and you were as good as dead. Or worse. Because that was the second rule that someone like her learned, that there were many things out there worse than death.

"I'm fine," Natia said brusquely. She took another deep breath of not-quite-right air.

Then, without giving herself another moment to hesitate, even to think, she took the last few steps forward. The stone above her disappeared, and for the first time in her seventeen years, there was nothing above her head except for the endless emptiness of the sky.

Natia didn't even realize that she'd stopped again until she felt Duncan rest his hand on her shoulder.

It was overwhelming, stepping out into the open and staring up at the night sky for the first time. Dark and endless, with pinpricks of light shining as bright as fire. _Stars_ , some distant part of her brain that hadn't entirely shut down said helpfully. _They're called stars. And the bright, glowing orbs are the moons._

The sight terrified her in a way that she hadn't expected.

She wasn't a fool. Natia knew that she was perfectly safe, standing there on the surface. Despite the stories that the occasional surface-dweller trading in Orzammar told gullible listeners, she was well aware that the ground under her feet wasn't suddenly going to let go of its grip on her and send her flying into the endless emptiness above.

Despite that knowledge, her mind didn't quite want to let go of that superstitious fear.

Duncan's grip on her shoulder tightened slightly. Just like that, Natia was pulled back into the present, her racing thoughts coming to a sudden halt.

"Sorry," she muttered, bringing her hand up to rub over her face. "I didn't—we should move on. I'm fine now."

There was a long pause, and then Duncan chuckled. "I doubt that," he said quietly.

Before she had a chance to protest, to argue that there was no reason to delay, he suddenly pulled his hand away and started walking away at a brisk pace. Natia stared for a moment, startled. Then she quickly hurried to catch up with him, almost running in order to not fall behind his long strides.

"We'll be camping not far from here tonight," Duncan said after a moment or two, once she had caught up to his side. "In the morning, we will need to leave early. There is a caravan three days' journey from here that we will be traveling with most of the way to Ostagar." He paused for a moment, a quicksilver grin appearing on his face as he looked her way. "If possible, I would like to make the journey in two days."

Natia nodded, all but jogging at his side as he continued his fast pace.

"I will be honest with you," he continued, "the travel will be difficult. More so even than usual for you."

At that, she couldn't help but frown. "Because of my height?" she asked. "My legs may be shorter than yours, but I can keep up."

Duncan's mouth twitched with another one of those fleeting smiles. "I'm certain that you can," he said. "No, the issue will be the sun."

Natia blinked at that. "The sun?" she repeated, confused. Then, realizing how that might sound, she quickly continued. "I mean, don't get me wrong, I know what the sun _is_. I just don't see how it would be a problem."

"Your skin will be weak against it at first," Duncan explained. "I have a lotion that should help prevent the worst of the damage, but I expect you will suffer from burns for the next few weeks until you have built up somewhat of a tolerance to it."

There wasn't much that Natia could say to that. The thought that something in the sky might actually be dangerous for her hadn't even crossed her mind. And why should it? Until a few days ago, the sun was nothing more than an abstract thought for her, something that she knew existed but that she never expected to see with her own eyes.

"Oh," she finally said, her eyes dropping. She carefully focused on her hands, on the green plants ( _grass_ , that helpful part of her brain told her) being crushed under her feet as she walked, anything but the never ending void hanging above her.

Duncan didn't say anything else until they stopped to make camp. Natia couldn't help but feel grateful for him for his silence.

* * *

Natia didn't sleep much that night.

She tossed and turned at the beginning, the moons and stars above her head shining as brightly as a beacon, before finally giving up. When she offered to take over the watch earlier than scheduled, Duncan gave her a knowing look. He didn't ask any questions, though, nor did he argue. He merely nodded, almost as if he'd been expecting it.

Part of her wished that he would at least have pretended not to have known it was coming.

Now that she had time to think about it, Natia was fairly certain that Duncan had purposefully planned their timing. Their pace had picked up as soon as they were aboveground, and there was no reason their journey from Orzammar to the surface should have taken as long as it had. It had to have been intentional on his part and, while she would never admit it out loud, she was grateful for it.

She didn't even want to imagine what it would have been like if they had arrived during the day. It was difficult enough arriving at night, with that endless expanse of lights shining in the sky above her. If they had arrived during the day, under the sun that she'd heard so much about but couldn't even imagine...

Some things were best left alone. Some thoughts didn't need to be explored.

Instead, for the first time since they had left the city, Natia sat in silence and thought about what had happened instead of what would happen. Only a week ago, her life had been the same as it always had been. As she'd thought it always would be. Doing whatever Beraht ordered her to do, to keep Rica safe. Sharing an ale with Leske after a long day, or a kiss, or a tumble. Trying her best to ignore Mother.

And now she most likely would never see any of them again.

Natia hadn't thought about it much, since she had left Orzammar. It had been easier that way. At first, she had just been so relieved to be _not dead_ that the thought that she was leaving everything and everyone behind, for good, hadn't even crossed her mind. Then she'd had what was waiting for her on the surface to worry about, all those unknowns pressing on her until she didn't have room to think about what had happened.

Now, it was another story.

She sat there in silence, staring up at the endless sky as the night passed. The moons and stars dimmed, the darkness of the sky fading into a chorus of colors unlike anything she had ever seen before.

As she watched the sun rise for the first time in her life, the sky changing from an inky black to a glorious ruby red to a shade of blue that put the most flawless sapphire to shame, Natia allowed herself just a minute or two to grieve for what she had lost. Who she had lost. The life she had always known.

By the time Duncan joined her a few minutes later, her eyes were dry and her face clear. And if he had noticed her moment of fear, of weakness, of grief… well, he allowed her the chance to at least pretend that it had gone unseen.

Natia accepted the vial of lotion that Duncan handed her with a thankful nod. As she smeared the greasy substance on the exposed skin of her face, grimacing a bit at the strong smell of herbs rising from it, she couldn't help but let herself smile. Just for a short moment.

For the first time, she felt as if she might actually have a future.


End file.
